Such a humble beginning, and a very daring start for what ended up becoming one of the biggest gaming franchises in our modern era. Having played almost all the other games that Fromsoft has helmed from Dark Souls all the way to Elden Ring, Demon’s Souls can definitely feel clunky, albeit very familiar now. Luckily, I’ve gained a love for clunk over the years, and even ignoring the significance of this game, I think it is easy to say that this is a wonderful game. No other Souls game feels quite like this, this isn’t an interconnected vast and dark world like Dark Souls, the gothic nightmare like Bloodborne, or the traditional onslaught of Sekiro. What Demon’s Souls feels like is a waking dream, nothing is quite connected, but everything has a purpose, and everything is distinct. The Nexus serves as a vast, almost infinite feeling church that houses a couple recluses that you’ll find throughout your travels, as they just sort of exist away from all the terrifying demons of the world. Most of the details of the story are left to your own devices, but many themes that permeate the series can be found here, from the corruption of power, from both royalty and the unknown and how it leaves all worse off, to the little victories of just finding others to confide in.
I think even without the prior knowledge / experience of the future entries that would come after, the game is still a great joy. Every world is a unique little experience that follows a fairly simple structure, and many ideas for level gimmicks would be revisited many times in the games that follow. But they leave for an interesting experience, where in one level you’re scaling a castle, another dredging your way through the first ever Miyazaki swamp, to escaping a colossal towering prison. The game loves to keep you constantly on your toes, and ends with a boss that feels more like a puzzle than a boss fight on most occasions. Sometimes, its experiments don’t always stick, but more often than not, they do, or at the very least, their core idea sticks enough where they would revisit it in the future. It leads to a very fun experience that, while challenging, is often engaging the player with a rich world, how they should gage against enemies, and what the strategy is to besting the boss. All of these worlds are capped off with a fight that sort of flips the concept of a boss fight on their head, and some of these would become staples of the series that many can point to and say “oh, so that's where that idea comes from!” Again, not everything from this game stuck the landing, having an inventory limit in a game like this is not fun, and you do come to miss the checkpoint system and the flasks of later games, but it is hard to complain when it is the starting point. Also, the game is pushing the PS3 to it’s breaking point, The Dragon God in particular absolutely destroys the game anytime he so much as breathes, its quite a sight to behold.
I think what inspires me the most about this game is just how much it held up as a great game that it became a phenomenon. Yes, Dark Souls was the moment the ball couldn’t stop rolling, and I do definitely prefer it, but Demon’s unrefined edges give it character, and many of its experiments worked and paid off. It is ambitious in a way very few games really can capture, and even now, with its jank and all, it is still a most excellent experience. I think one day I’d like to revisit the world of Boletaria in the remake, but for now, I am just happy to have gotten to experience this wondrous piece of gaming history.
I think even without the prior knowledge / experience of the future entries that would come after, the game is still a great joy. Every world is a unique little experience that follows a fairly simple structure, and many ideas for level gimmicks would be revisited many times in the games that follow. But they leave for an interesting experience, where in one level you’re scaling a castle, another dredging your way through the first ever Miyazaki swamp, to escaping a colossal towering prison. The game loves to keep you constantly on your toes, and ends with a boss that feels more like a puzzle than a boss fight on most occasions. Sometimes, its experiments don’t always stick, but more often than not, they do, or at the very least, their core idea sticks enough where they would revisit it in the future. It leads to a very fun experience that, while challenging, is often engaging the player with a rich world, how they should gage against enemies, and what the strategy is to besting the boss. All of these worlds are capped off with a fight that sort of flips the concept of a boss fight on their head, and some of these would become staples of the series that many can point to and say “oh, so that's where that idea comes from!” Again, not everything from this game stuck the landing, having an inventory limit in a game like this is not fun, and you do come to miss the checkpoint system and the flasks of later games, but it is hard to complain when it is the starting point. Also, the game is pushing the PS3 to it’s breaking point, The Dragon God in particular absolutely destroys the game anytime he so much as breathes, its quite a sight to behold.
I think what inspires me the most about this game is just how much it held up as a great game that it became a phenomenon. Yes, Dark Souls was the moment the ball couldn’t stop rolling, and I do definitely prefer it, but Demon’s unrefined edges give it character, and many of its experiments worked and paid off. It is ambitious in a way very few games really can capture, and even now, with its jank and all, it is still a most excellent experience. I think one day I’d like to revisit the world of Boletaria in the remake, but for now, I am just happy to have gotten to experience this wondrous piece of gaming history.